Saga of Ice
by Bryony Paige Fox
Summary: It's seven years after the Ceremonial Duel. Everyone has moved on and out, except Seto and Joey, who remain in Domino City. After all that time of not seeing each other, their lives start to intertwine more and more...and these two enemies have yet to figure out if this is good or not. No yaoi, rated for language and adult-ish problems. SetoxOC, JoeyxOC
1. Seven Years

Saga of Ice

* * *

_'Loneliness expresses the pain of being alone and solitude expresses the glory of being alone.'_

* * *

Seven years...

It had been seven years since the Ceremonial Duel took place, and in that time, everything had settled down. Téa Gardner ran off to study ballet in France for a few years before breaking her leg badly; she would never get to dance again, but she elected to live permanently in the country where she married and had twin girls. Joey Wheeler had an epiphany where he knew he needed to get his life on track for good, so against all odds he worked his way to the top in high school, then got a degree in criminal justice. Even more surprising, he ended up attending law school after that and became a prosecutor with a dangerous conviction rate. Tristan Taylor got a job working security in the local museum and married Serenity, much to Joey's abhorrence. But they were happy, so the issue was never pressed. Yugi Muto started college, but ended up having to drop out when his grandfather got too sick to run the game shop himself; however, when his grandfather died, he closed up the shop and disappeared without a word. Mokuba Kaiba went off to college in New York, and was reportedly dating a television actress named Kate Mitchell.

Seto Kaiba remained at his post at Kaiba Corp, and had never felt more empty in his life. Mokuba being gone and so far away had shattered him. He didn't feel the need to work so hard anymore; hell, he had enough money to where he never really needed to work again, and this was actually becoming a tempting decision in his mind. Another alarming realization was the fact that he actually missed the members of the Geek Convention floating around all the time. For some reason he'd figured they'd just be around, annoying the ever loving crap out of him for the rest of his life. Now they were all moved on to their own things, and things were quiet. Too quiet. And he was all alone in the world.

Kaiba exhaled slowly and glanced at the clock on his desk. Two in the afternoon. He reached over and powered off his computer. It was a Friday and everything was going smoothly; he really had no pressing concerns or even a good reason to keep working that day. The man sighed, put on his suit jacket, and grabbed his suitcase before heading out his car. He drove out to Elle's, an upscale sort of restaurant-bar combination. It was classy, full of skylights and expensive modern sculptures. The CEO had grown accustomed to drinking here now that there was really nothing else to do, and no one really recognized him.

Until today, of course.

Kaiba had just received his first scotch when Joey Wheeler walked in with his own briefcase -and was he wearing a suit? The two locked eyes for a few minutes as the blonde approached the bar. He kept his dark eyes fixed on Kaiba, but spoke to the bartender.

"...Can I get a bourbon, please?" The woman nodded, filled a glass with ice, and poured a splash of liquor over it before sliding it in front of Joey. "Thanks." He took a sip before addressing Kaiba directly. "What are you doing here?"

Kaiba rolled his eyes and waved his scotch at the blonde. "Same as you, obviously."

"Why? You don't seem like the kind who would ever drink."

The bartender snorted softly before she left to go tend to other customers. Joey glanced over at her, then turned back to the dark-haired man.

"Hmph." Kaiba took a drink of his scotch and stared off into space while Joey continued to stare at him.

"What's wrong with you?"

"None of your concern."

Joey sighed, then shrugged. "Okay." He didn't actually expect a detailed answer, but it was in his nature to at least ask. With a slight groan, he pulled a file out of his suitcase and began to go over it with an increasingly darkening expression. Kaiba raised an eyebrow; what was he reading?

"What's that?" Kaiba asked, sounded genuinely semi-interested. Joey blinked as he was shocked back into the real world.

"Case file. Can't talk to you about it though."

"_Case_ file? What do you do for work now?"

Joey sighed. "I'm a prosecutor. I usually work straight homicides but now they have me working worse crimes..."

Kaiba gaped. The mutt was a lawyer? Joey sneered at him, knowing exactly what he was thinking.

"Don't looked so surprised there, Money Bags. I may not have been the best at Duel Monsters, but I'm pretty great at arguing with people!" Joey announced with a cocky grin.

"Sure you are," Kaiba responded, finishing off his drink. The bartender returned, and immediately poured him another.

The two of them remained there for quite awhile, until well past eight that evening. Joey only had about a drink and a half; he was never one to overdo it, thanks to his father's poor example. Though they didn't talk much, he did notice that Kaiba seemed to be drinking himself blind, not to mention the fact he didn't have any of the usual feistiness, or really any of his annoyingly bad traits except for the occasional sarcastic response. Finally, the blonde stuff his papers back into their case and pulled two twenties out of his wallet and tossed it at the bartender.

"That's for both of us, I'm gonna get him out of here," he told her with a wink, then added, "Keep the change."

She smiled and thanked him as he turned to Kaiba.

"C'mon, Kaiba, we gotta get out of here. I'm not letting you drive home like this," he chided, but Kaiba just shot him a dark look.

"I don't need your help." He clumsily fished a fifty dollar bill out of jacket pocket, slammed it down on the counter, then stumbled towards the exit. Joey watched with a raised eyebrow, then turned back to the bartender.

"Keep the fifty, his rich ass won't miss it. Aren't we just the greatest tippers?" He grinned at her, then chased a drunk Kaiba out of the door, only to see him stumble and collapse on the concrete. The blonde blanched, waiting a moment for him to stand up. But he didn't; Kaiba simply turned onto his back and moaned. Joey rolled his eyes and bent down to help him up. The CEO had absolutely no fight in him left, and he let the blonde lead him to his car.

Joey shoved Kaiba into the passenger's seat, then slipped into the driver's spot. He turned to the brunet. "Put on your seatbelt."

Kaiba reached up and fumbled for the belt, then brought it weakly across his body; he couldn't find the buckle, which made Joey laugh. Kaiba shot him a half-hearted glare and managed to click it together, and Joey backed out of his parking spot and headed home. He parked the car outside of his own house and turned to Kaiba, who was barely awake.

"Why don't you stay here for the night? I have a guest bedroom and I don't think you should be alone in that big ass mansion of yours...unless Mokuba needs you." Joey added the last part pointedly.

"Mokuba's'n New York," Kaiba slurred, and the blonde took that as a green light to help him into the house and into a bedroom.

"Here's some towels, if you want to shower in the morning." He watched as Kaiba attempted to take his jacket off, smirking. "There's also some aspirin in the bathroom cabinet when you need it." The blonde glanced at the clock; it was just going on ten.

He headed to his study to do some work for a couple hours, or at least try. But there was something very wrong with Kaiba...and it wouldn't leave his mind. Did he consider the other man a friend? No, not at all. This was the guy who taunted him, belittled him, degraded him, not to mention the small fact that there was a point where he'd tried to kill him...granted, he wasn't quite himself at the time, but he certainly wasn't himself now either. Kaiba was weaker now, more defeated, and it did concern the blonde. It was just in his nature to care about that sort of thing. Joey leaned back in his chair, saved his work, then powered off the computer to check on the brunet before he went to bed himself.

The door to Kaiba's room was still open, just as Joey had left it, and the light was on. But when he peered in, Kaiba's clothes were piled on the dresser, and his socks and shoes were sitting right beside the bed. Kaiba himself was sprawled out on his back underneath the covers, snoring rather loudly thanks to his drinks. Joey rolled his eyes, went into the bathroom, grabbed a bottle of aspirin, and placed it next to the other man's clothes before retiring to his own room for the night.


	2. The Down Side of Drinking

Saga of Ice

* * *

Bright sunshine woke Kaiba late the next morning, and it really pissed him off. His head was pounding, his body refused to move, and his stomach felt like it had learned how to twist itself into new shapes and just mastered the Celtic trinity knot. He groaned loudly, forcing himself to roll onto his side. Unfortunately, whatever contents that remained in his stomach decided to eject themselves. All over the other side of the bed. At least it wasn't his bed...

_Wait, what_?

"Ugh...that's gross, Kaiba," a disgusted voice chided him from the hallway. Kaiba whipped his head towards the door, albeit a bit too quickly, and glared at the blonde.

"What the hell am I doing here?" he demanded, stumbling out of bed. He nearly tripped, but caught himself against the wall just in time. The entire cream-colored room was spinning, much to his misfortune. Joey sighed and began to rip the sheets off the bed.

"Your drunk ass was in no position to drive last night, and I didn't feel like taking all the way home," Joey responded. "Though I do kind of feel like giving you an intervention." He set the sheets gingerly into a basket before lifting it into his arms and heading out the door once again, where he paused for a moment. "You're obviously way too hungover, so I'm just going to keep you here for awhile."

"What makes you think I'd take you up on that?" Kaiba snapped with a sneer.

"The fact that your car is still in the bar's parking lot."

"I could always just call my chauffeur."

Joey had a feeling he wouldn't. "At least you wouldn't be driving."

Kaiba glared as he left, then noticed the aspirin on the dresser and managed to drag himself over to it and dispense a rather hefty dose after getting dressed. He slammed all the pills in his mouth before stumbling to the kitchen for a glass of water. He downed three whole glasses before Joey returned, carrying the empty laundry basket.

"Feel free to lie down on the couch if you need to," Joey called to him while placing the basket in the room. When he returned, he was staring at his phone solemnly. "I gotta go; there was an issue with work. I'd give you my bed, but I don't want you upchucking on that too." He disappeared into another room and returned with his keys and briefcase, and Kaiba scowled as he watched him leave. Whatever. At least he wouldn't have to deal with the mutt while halfway sober.

Kaiba downed another glass of water before dragging himself to the couch. It was actually very comfortable, being an overstuffed sectional covered in smooth suede-like material. He realized it was too quiet, just as usual. He stretched out and shut his eyes.

There had been a time where if he tried to lie down and take a nap before, he would immediately be awakened and lectured harshly by his little brother for not sleeping well the night before. Or maybe for not eating. Or for being rude to someone due to both of those reasons. And then Mokuba would hug him and tell him that he was sorry for going off about it, assuring him he was just worried.

But at least there was someone who cared.

Kaiba very rarely even heard from Mokuba himself anymore. Usually he'd just pick up something in the news or stupid internet gossip columns that he'd unfortunately resorted to. After all, he was dating a high-profile actress, and that girl always had something going on. Not in a bad way, but she had the lead role in a very popular sitcom, so naturally paparazzi were always trailing her -and by association, Mokuba, who was relatively known himself. Not only was he attending university in New York, but he was also establishing the East Coast branch of Kaiba Corp as well, and doing a very good job with it. Unfortunately, that was the only reason why he really ever spoke to Mokuba anymore, which was horrible considering how close they used to be.

Kaiba exhaled heavily and opened his eyes. He pulled his phone out, it wouldn't hurt to give Mokuba a call. He flipped through his contacts until he found him then hit the 'call' button. It went straight to voicemail. Kaiba hung up without a sound and stared the ceiling. He felt his numbness fading and giving way to an even worse emotion, and he wouldn't have that. Groaning, he rose to his feet once again and went back to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. It was chock-full of everything; he should've guessed. After all, Joey wasn't exactly known for eating like a bird. He found a bottle of wine on the bottom and shrugged. He wasn't much for red wine, but it would have to do.

* * *

"So what do you think?"

Joey looked at Detective Martin West, and sighed. He was dealing with a rape victim, a twenty-year-old college student who had been abused by someone consistently, yet refused to say who. Now he had apparently gotten people to help him hurt her, so here they all were in the hospital.

"I think that dealing with live victims are way too difficult," he muttered, then cleared his throat and looked at the detective. "I don't want to arrest Coralie, but if we let her go, she might go back to that asshole..." Joey sighed heavily. "Collar her. She'll be safer in holding than at home."

The detective gaped at the attorney. "You want me to _arrest_ a rape victim? On what charge?"

"Obstruction. We have a few suspects, but she won't confirm or deny anything. She's hindering the investigation after she willingly made a report." The detective narrowed his eyes, but Joey held up a hand. "I don't want to do this any more than you do, but it might be the only way to save her. Do you need me for anything else?"

"No," the other man replied shortly. "I think you've done our damage for the day."

Joey sighed and watched the man place the girl under arrest before heading back to his car. He hated this part of the job, but at the end of the day he knew what needed to be done. As he reached the parking lot of the hospital, the blonde realized that dark clouds had already started gathering in the sky. He frowned, opened the back door, slammed his suitcase on the seat, and shut the door before sliding into the driver's seat and rushing back home to see what Kaiba was up to.

He unlocked the front door, threw his keys on a nearby table, then continued into the living room, where he found an empty wine bottle and a cell phone sitting on the coffee table and Kaiba's shirt strewn over the back of his couch, but where was the brunet? He narrowed his eyes, then he heard a distinct hacking sound from the guest bathroom. Joey groaned and rubbed his temples; at least the idiot had the sense to find the toilet this time. He turned his attention over to Kaiba's phone, and picked it up to look at it. He'd called Mokuba a few times, but the calls all only lasted a few seconds, meaning he never reached the guy. He went into the text messages and was semi-shocked to discover there were only three recipients listed. One was Mokuba, and the other two appeared to be business contacts. He hit Mokuba's name and saw only three messages: one was from Mokuba saying he was in class, while the other two were from Kaiba asking his brother to call him. Joey frowned, suddenly understanding. He was willing to bet that Kaiba never thought that this would ever happen: that there would be a time when Mokuba went out to be on his own and no longer depended on his big brother.

Joey put down Kaiba's phone and pulled out his own, scanning through calls and messages. He didn't have much time for anything outside of work himself, but his inbox was full of texts, and from everybody except Yugi. He missed that little spiky head, and had spent massive amounts of time using all his legal resources and contacts trying to find him. Clearly, the shorter man did not want to be found, but Joey would never give up. He knew Yugi was devastated after his grandfather's death, but it wasn't like he didn't have anybody there to support him.

At that moment, another message popped up on his screen from his on-again/off-again girlfriend, an advice columnist named Jessica Mills. The woman was definitely a looker, what with her long auburn hair, big blue eyes, and dimples, and she had a fiery disposition that froze people in their tracks, despite the fact that she was barely five feet tall. Joey was pretty sure this is why the paper hired her; after all, no one gave more amusing advice than this woman.

_Can't make dinner tonight. Too much work to do over here. Maybe Monday night?_

Joey shrugged to himself before responding with a simple _okay_. In all honesty, he'd forgotten that she had asked for a dinner date, even though they were technically broken up at the time. He sighed and went to check on the brunet, who was still holed up in the bathroom.

"Hey, Kaiba, are you dead yet?" he called, pounding on the door. The response was a half-hearted growl and some more hacking. Joey sighed once again and went to put some new sheets on the guest bed before barging into the bathroom. "You, sir, are a wreck."

Kaiba shot the blonde a glare before slumping over onto the wall. "Didn't ask for your opinion." He buried his eyes into the heels of his hands.

"I just like giving it. And by the way, that was a pretty decent pinot noir you chugged, so you kind of deserve this right now." Joey leaned down and pulled a loudly-swearing Kaiba back up with him, and brought him back to the couch. "So how long has Mokuba been gone?"

Kaiba immediately shut down and drew into himself. Joey knelt down before him and sighed.

"After my mother left him, my father started drinking like this too. It's why I'm used to seeing people like this. But he died last year, Kaiba, and trust me when I say you don't want to go down that same path. Especially since it's pointless to you."

Kaiba turned on the glare, but didn't speak. Joey ignored him and continued anyhow.

"You're young. Successful. And when you're not busy being a douchebag and criticizing people left and right, you're actually a good guy. Mokuba's gone right now, yeah, I get that, but if you try opening up a just a little bit, I think you'll see that other people aren't so bad either. Hey, Yugi never thought you were bad...I mean, I was pretty sure you were a giant prick there for awhile -and you totally were- but after I saw how much you love your brother, I-"

"Wheeler."

Joey blinked after having his inspirational rant cut off so suddenly. "Uh...yeah?"

"Stop talking."

Joey breathed out slowly, attempting to contain his temper like he did everyday in court, then stood up when he knew Kaiba had passed out. He gently turned the brunet onto his side so he'd at least be able to breathe better then sat back on his heels. Obviously his bitter rival was in pain, but the guy didn't let people in easily. Oddly, Joey had a strange feeling that he was about to do what Yugi had attempted and failed to do for years: befriend Kaiba. There was just something different about him, and Joey knew it was up to him to help. Suddenly, the blonde's phone began to ring, and he yanked it out of his pocket.

"Joey Wheeler here," he answered, glancing back at Kaiba as he scurried out of the room.

"It's West. Coralie Smart was bailed out a couple hours ago, but she was just rushed back to the hospital. She was attacked again, but this time the guy was caught. We need you at the precinct, _stat_."


	3. Save The Drama For Joey

Saga of Ice

* * *

Douchebag. Giant prick. For a man with so much education, Joey certainly had his own way of laying on the insults. Kaiba snorted at the thought. The blonde was right, though, and it killed the CEO to admit it. He slowly sat up, noticing that Joey was gone once again; this reminded him of his own days of working himself blind, except it seemed that Joey was doing it for more than just money. Something serious was going on.

Not that Kaiba really cared.

He stood slowly, feeling a pleasant sort of empty, and looked around. It was dark, his headache had lessened, and all the brunet wanted was to go home and sleep in his own bed. He called for his driver, then shot a message to Roland asking him to pick up his car from him; the CEO wasn't about to have his Mercedes impounded. Before he could wait in impatient silence, his phone rang, and the name _Mokuba_ had appeared on the screen.

"Mokuba..." he answered quickly, speaking the name even before the phone made its way to his ear.

"Hey, what's up? Is everything all right with work?"

Kaiba paused for a moment, confused. "Yes...of course, why wouldn't it be?"

"Because it's not we have time to call each other and chat just for the hell of it," Mokuba answered, and a girl's muffled voice could be heard in the background. Kaiba cringed.

"...You're busy?"

It was Mokuba's turn to pause. "Seto, are you okay? You sound...different."

"I'm fine. Sorry to bother you," Kaiba said shortly, and ended the call. First the first time in who knew how many years, tears were threatening to gather in the dark blue eyes. He quickly cleared his throat, shocking them away, then realized his ride had stopped in the street and went out to it.

* * *

"Who were you talking to?" Kate Mitchell asked as she slid into bed beside her boyfriend. Mokuba was quiet for a moment before responding. He put his phone to silent then turned over to look into her hazel eyes.

"My brother. I think something's going on with him," he said with a sigh.

"Like what?"

"I don't know. He's not very open about things, even with me."

Kate curled up in Mokuba's arms and kissed him lightly. "So why don't you go see him?"

"Because I'm here now. I'm working on setting up the company, and I've got school, and you...I can't just drop everything and leave. Seto wouldn't want me to."

"He might need you to, at least for a little bit," Kate answered softly, but pointedly. "You've told me what happened to you two growing up. Maybe letting you go has been harder on him than he's letting on."

"You're right," Mokuba agreed after a moment's hesitation, tightening his grip around the young woman in his arms. "I'll look into flights tomorrow."

* * *

Joey grimaced as he watched and listened to the detectives taking Coralie Smart's statement. He could tell she was a gentle person, and an easy target, much like Yugi. The girl was physically a twenty year old, but she appeared so small and frightened as she laid on that hospital bed that she could have passed for at least a twelve year old, though no tears fell even as she recounted everything she'd gone through.

"Corrie, can you recall how many men raped you the other night?" a detective named Arisa Milioti asked gently.

"At least four," the young woman replied quietly. "But I didn't see all of their faces. Only the one you've already caught." She fidgeted for a moment, before Joey stepped forward.

"But you do confirm that Ryan Daschell is the man who attacked you?"

"Yes."

Joey nodded. "And we've already got your rape kit...thank you, Corrie." He turned to the detective. "I'll have West put him in the system, then I'll void her arrest and have it expunged."

"Really?" Corrie asked. He nodded.

"Yes. You made the right choice. Do you have any relatives you could stay with for now?"

She shook her head, and tears started to gather in her clear green eyes. "No, my parents disappeared after my little sister died. I was living with Ryan...I have no house, and no job. I don't even think I can go back to school."

"When did your sister die?"

"When I was thirteen. She was ten. She was hit by a car that ran through a red light. After that, I ended up in foster care until I aged out and came here for school. Then I met Ryan, and here I am," Corrie said, almost mechanically.

Joey nodded sympathetically. "I'm sorry. I'm going to talk to a friend at Domino U about getting you into a dorm. You really do need to stay in school." He thought about how easily his own life could have been shot to hell, and decided there was no way he was going to let that happen to an innocent girl.

A million phones calls and an abundance of spur of the moment paperwork later, Joey had set up university housing for Coralie and even added a protective detail, just in case, since Ryan Daschell had been released on bail pending trial. The cop would protect her regardless of whether she went to him, or he somehow came to her.

Another thing he wanted to help Corrie with was a job. Finding one for her technically wasn't his job, but she needed as much help getting back on her feet as possible. He knew she was studying economics and could really use some experience in that area...Joey started typing away at his office computer, and finally found something that just might work: Kaiba Corporation was seeking new personal assistants for high-level executives. Business, economics...they were harmonious, right?

* * *

"What the fuck do you think this is, Wheeler?"

Seto Kaiba barely had time to enter his office early Wednesday morning -forget even sitting down or powering up his computer- before Joey had appeared right in his shadow. And Kaiba was none to happy about this.

"I offer some gratitude for what you did for me Friday night and Saturday, but as far as I can recall, I didn't ask you to help me out; therefore, I owe you nothing."

"I'm not _saying_ you owe me anything, I'm simply asking you to give this girl a chance. She's really smart, top of her class at the U, and she's really quiet, too, so she won't be an annoyance. C'mon, Kaiba, the girl's been through a rough time."

Kaiba flung his suitcase on the sofa at the opposite wall and scowled at the blonde as he pressed the power button on his computer.

"And _why_ do you think I'd ever hire a convicted felon to be my personal assistant?"

"She's not the perp, she's the victim! Kaiba, this girl lost her family, just like you, including her little sister," he shouted indignantly, and a little bit of ice defrosted in Kaiba's eyes. "She's been through so much, and I'm _asking_ you for this favor. I'm not asking you to actually care or anything else, just..._please_."

Kaiba raised an eyebrow, and a very odd slight smile appeared on his lips and his eyes shone brighter for a split moment; it was an expression Joey had never seen before. He wasn't sure he liked it.

"Wheeler, are you _begging_ me to do this for you?" he inquired in a quiet yet expectant voice, that stupid smirk becoming more aggravating by the second. Joey closed his eyes and clenched his fists, but remained otherwise stationary.

"Please, Kaiba. I can't tell you everything about her, but I promise if you at least give her an interview you will not be disappointed," he said, deliberately, attempted to drain to habitual rage that accompanied Kaiba's badly-timed taunts.

The CEO sighed and typed on his computer for a moment, which had just finished booting up, and his printer went off in the corner.

"She has an interview in forty-five minutes."

"Well, then she's here forty-five minutes early, is that all right? She's waiting in the lobby." Joey retorted. He received a withering glare, but the blonde couldn't help but smile.

"Fine. Get her in here."

Joey ran out to the lobby, and held out his hand to Corrie, who was perched on a bench, cross-legged, wearing a black pencil skirt, rose-colored silk blouse, and black flats. She accepted his hand and he helped her up.

"You are about to meet Seto Kaiba. He's going to seem kind of scary, but I promise you that you will be fine. He's actually kind of a pushover deep down; trust me, I would know this. Just answer his questions as short and to the point as you can. He'll love that."

"I'll be fine, Mr. Wheeler, I've dealt with worse," Corrie said quietly, with small smile. She let go of Joey's hand and fixed her curly blonde ponytail before nodding. "I'm ready to go." He smiled and drew in his breath, then brought her back to Kaiba's office.

"Here you go, Money Bags," Joey announced, gently pushing the petite blonde girl inside the room, and closing the door behind him as he left.

Kaiba rose to his feet and subtly looked her over. She remained relaxed and calm, yet the CEO could immediately sense that she'd been through a great deal; it was an odd feeling he'd never experienced before, being able to read someone like that. Typically he detached and mistrusted immediately. He approached her, and she politely extended her hand. Kaiba noticed significant bruising on her arm and wrist, so he gently and briefly accepted her handshake.

"I'm Corrie Smart," she said, and Kaiba had to admit he already preferred her soft-spoken demeanor over his last assistant's boisterous outbursts, because those were not good on his increasingly frequent headaches. But he merely nodded and pulled out a chair for her and motioned for her to sit down.

"Seto Kaiba," he responded in exchange, though she already knew who he was, then pulled out the resumé Joey had emailed him (though he had no idea how the blonde had gotten his email address) and he'd just printed out. "So Wheeler tells me you're currently studying economics over at Domino University?"

"That's correct."

"What courses have you taken so far?" He leaned against his desk and studied her intently.

"I'm a junior, so I've already completed most of my generals, along with intro to microeconomics, intro to macroeconomics, international trade, and some calculus courses required for my major."

Kaiba raised an eyebrow as he continued to scan the resumé. It appeared that Joey had actually done something useful for once. "You worked as a receptionist before?"

"Yes, sir, for a personal injury law firm."

The CEO set the paper down. The girl was qualified, quiet, and polite. He had no reason not to hire her, but he couldn't help feeling the need to pry further, if only a bit.

"When can you start?"

She paused and blinked. "Uh-well, as soon as you need me to," Corrie answered, and was about to continue when Kaiba cut her off.

"I know you'll need to testify in court, so you'll need time off for that. What are the trial dates?"

She bit her lip and glanced away. "You'll have to ask Mr. Wheeler that, sir, he hasn't told me yet."

"Coralie, I have one last question." The girl looked back up at him, surprised. People typically only used her full first name on paper. "What are you going to court for? I do not hire people with a criminal background."

Her eyes widened even more than usual. "Oh, no, I didn't commit a crime. I-I was attacked, I just need to testify, and then it'll be all over with, nothing will interfere with my work," she insisted.

_Attacked_? Who would hurt such a defenseless-seeming girl? Kaiba seethed inwardly for a moment; he always did have a problem with those who picked on people weaker or younger than themselves. But the CEO simply stared at her some more, then nodded, thankful for his uncanny ability to mask all emotion.

"All right. You can start tomorrow?" Corrie nodded. "Good. Find out from Wheeler when he needs you and let me know when you'll be gone. Your shift starts at 7." Kaiba returned to his seat.

"Thank you, Mr. Kaiba." She stood quickly, and reached down to pick up her purse. Kaiba watched as she approached the door, which opened before she could touch the knob. She gasped and jumped back.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" an extraordinarily familiar voice exclaimed from the other side of the door. (_It can't be_, Kaiba thought.) "I didn't think he had a meeting. Here, after you!" Corrie smiled weakly, and thanked the person on the other side of the door before exiting.

And then Mokuba walked in, smiling brightly. "Surprise!"


	4. Back When The Demons Were Different

Saga of Ice

* * *

**Ten minutes earlier...**

Joey sat nervously in the lobby; he wasn't sure how much of Kaiba's cold, harsh attitude the fragile girl could take. Had he made a mistake in trying to get her a job here? Sure, it paid well and was safely far enough away from anything remotely related to Corrie's past, but still. All he could do was beg some higher power to let Kaiba be easy on her...

"Joey?"

The blonde blinked and turned his head to see a tall young man with short black hair and shining gray eyes. He blanched when he realized that this guy was the little Chihuahua that had stood loyally at Kaiba's side for years, lashing out in rage at anyone who dared to challenge or threaten his big brother.

"Mokuba! It's about time you cut your hair!" he joked, giving the other man a quick one-armed hug and a slap on the back. "What's been up with you, man?"

"Oh, I've been studying physics out at Columbia in New York, and setting up a new Kaiba Corp HQ over there. I just wanted to check in on business over here though, quick. What are you doing these days?"

"Oh," Joey said, shrugging as he flashed his suitcase, though he felt slightly inadequate next to Mokuba's brand-name school coupled with his business endeavors, "I'm just a prosecuting attorney."

"You're a _lawyer_?" Mokuba gaped. "Bet no one saw that one coming."

The blonde rolled his eyes. "Thanks, Mokuba. But hey...there's one thing I do have to ask you..." Joey glanced at Mokuba uncertainly, and the other man gestured for him to continue. "Have you talked to your brother lately?"

"No," Mokuba said, not especially liking where this was going. "Seto and I don't have much time for that, outside of business things, I mean, and school keeps me really busy...that's why I came back for a couple days, actually. Why?"

Joey exhaled and sat down on the bench again. "Look, I know it's none of my business, okay? But he's kind of got a little bit of a drinking problem, I think, and he just seems pretty...blank."

"Blank? What's that supposed to mean? And Seto doesn't drink like that," Mokuba snapped, albeit more out of concern than out of anger at someone talking against his brother. Joey shrugged and started scrolling through his phone.

"Exactly what that sounds like...you'll see what I mean," he responded, and Mokuba scowled before running off. "Hey! He's in a meeting!" Joey yelped after him, then slumped back when he realized there was no use. "Ah, I don't care what he does, why fake it."

Besides, he had a lunch date.

**Presently**...

"Surprise!" Mokuba announced as he shut the door behind him and leaned against it, but his cheery disposition faltered almost immediately when he noticed his brother's eyes. Joey was right; they were completely void of any emotion and resembled two pieces of brittle, late winter ice that had been colored with a navy blue marker. Dark shadows clung beneath his lower eyelids and his face was more pale than ever, even for him. Mokuba also noted that there were a couple empty liquor bottles in the trash beside his desk "Seto...?"

"Mokuba..." he said in a flat voice. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to visit you," he said quietly, and approached his brother's desk and plopped down on top of it, like he did when he was younger. Kaiba stared ahead blankly, avoiding eye contact, and nodded. Otherwise, he barely reacted, until Mokuba gently picked up his brother's hand and squeezed it. Something flickered in Kaiba's eyes at the contact; a sudden show of emotion, it seemed. Mokuba sighed. "This was what I was afraid of."

"What?" asked Kaiba.

"You're detaching. Completely." Mokuba paused to successfully suppress tears; it pained him deeply to see his big brother like this. "Why did you tell me to go ahead and go to school so far away if you had no intention of giving anyone else a chance? I would've stayed, and found something closer." He sighed once again and shook his head. "I'm sorry. This was my fault."

Kaiba jerked his hand away. "If you came to lecture me, then you may leave right now. I have things to do and no time to listen to guilt trips."

The younger Kaiba didn't move an inch. Instead, he reached over and gently touched his brother's bangs, and pushed them back. He paused, surprised that his brother didn't move away again from his touch. "Love you, Seto. I'll go get a room at the hotel." He sighed and stood up. "By the way, I'm here until Friday night. If you want to get dinner or something, just call me."

"Don't be stupid, Mokuba. You still have a room at the mansion," Kaiba muttered, and turned his tired eyes back onto his computer. Mokuba's mouth twitched into a quick smile before he patted his brother's shoulder and headed back to the mansion. He wasn't ever really planning to go to their hotel.

* * *

"Sorry I'm late!" proclaimed the voice of the woman that could tear the last bit of sanity out of Joey's soul. "I had to submit my column before I left, here's hoping I don't have to go back!"

Joey leaned back in his chair and took another sip of his water as he watched Jessica Mills dramatically collapse in the chair across from him. She wore a low-cut blue and green paisley print sundress, large white-gold hoop earrings, and an artistic array of necklaces. Her reddish-brown hair was fell excitedly around her heart-shaped face, and he couldn't help but feel that troublesome spark in his stomach. He hated it and loved it all at the same time.

"So what did you want to talk about?" he asked, already knowing what the woman wanted. She grinned and ordered a strawberry margarita from a waitress who came to give her a menu before responding.

"Well, since we both hate beating around the bush, I'll just come out and say it: I want to get back together. I think it could really work this time."

Joey dropped his head in his hands and groaned. "Jess, we've tried already. Many times over the past three years."

"I know, but I've completely dumped Lee, and things are really starting to calm down at work," she said with a seductive smile. "And I can't stand the idea of never being with you again."

Joey blinked in astonishment. "Okay, let's look at the facts here. You literally called me over a week ago, and we set up to have dinner. Then you cancelled on me for work. After that, you stood me up on Monday-_because of work_. And I know you didn't dump your old boyfriend. He got married to your old roommate." He watched as Jessica's face scrunched into a scowl; she was not used to getting turned down. "Face it, Jess, you're just not a commitment kind of woman. That's okay, but just be honest about it. And personally, I'm doing so much at work myself right now that I don't think I could handle anything like what we had." He smirked and thought about it for a minute. "That was one crazy roller coaster."

She twirled her hair a little, then leaned closer. "So why don't we just have fun for the sake of having fun?" She bit her lip and grinned a little bit, raising her perfectly shaped eyebrows.

Now this plan sounded awesome to Joey. She grabbed his hand and pulled him up and out of his seat.

"Wait-but your drink!" he protested as she dragged him out the front door and to his car.

"Fuck it," she muttered as she pressed him against the car and rammed her tongue almost all the way to his stomach. Joey struggled for a moment, but ultimately just gave in, despite the fact that other people out enjoying the sunny mid-afternoon weekday were giving them odd looks; some seemed to be rooting him on, while others shielded their young children's eyes and led them in the opposite direction. Joey broke away to gasp for air, then unlocked his car doors and opened it for her. She smirked and slid into the front seat.

This was going to be fun, not to mention a huge mistake.

* * *

When Kaiba got home late that evening, he found Mokuba sound asleep on the couch. He was completely stretched out on his back, his feet propped up on the armrest, and one arm curving down to the floor. He breathed so heavily he was practically snoring, and Kaiba rolled his eyes as he hung up his jacket on the elegant wooden coatrack next to the door. Something unpleasant in the pit of his stomach reminded him of the days so many years ago when he'd find Mokuba asleep like this after a hard day's work, except back then he was able to easily scoop the child in his arms and put him to bed. Sometimes the kid would wake up a bit, and Kaiba would sit beside him and chat mindlessly for a few moments until Mokuba would fall back to sleep.

Those days were so over, especially since that little kid was currently an inch taller than the elder brother at this point.

He wandered to the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of scotch, and took a long drink straight out of the bottle, contemplating whether or not to wake Mokuba and talk to him. _No_, he decided. _Mokuba will be leaving in just a few days; it's going to be difficult enough seeing him off again. Why make it any worse_?

Several hours later, Mokuba awoke on his own. A quick check of the clock on his phone told him it was nearly two in the morning. He slowly rose to his feet and stretched, noting his brother's jacket was now hung in the entryway. Mokuba frowned and silently headed to Kaiba's room. There, he found his big brother passed out at his desk, face-down on the computer's keyboard. The now-empty bottle of scotch sitting at the edge of the large desk. Mokuba picked it up and threw it at the wall, smashing it, trying to get a reaction out of his brother.

Kaiba didn't even stir.

Mokuba frowned and shook him roughly; finally, Kaiba moaned loudly and attempted to swat his little brother away. If it hadn't been so difficult to see, Mokuba would have laughed at this reaction; instead, he slipped his arm underneath Kaiba's and hoisted him out of his chair and dragged him to his bed. Kaiba let out a string of profanity in what Mokuba was pretty sure was French, and shoved his brother away from him.

"Leave me 'lone," he slurred, but Mokuba shook his head and sat in the chair beside the bed.

"Hell no. Seriously, Seto? What the hell is this shit?"

Even in his heavily inebriated stupor, Kaiba was shocked. Mokuba never uttered curse words; it was a point of pride for him. But at the same time, he didn't really feel like explaining anything, so he rolled over onto his stomach and flung his arm out at him before passing out again. Mokuba shook his head and did something Kaiba would have never permitted while he was awake. He pulled back the sleeves of his shirt, and cringed as his suspicions were confirmed. His brother wasn't a cutter, because it wasn't potent enough; however, he did take to burning himself, and large welts and blisters covered most of his arm, signaling it had been going on for quite awhile again. Mokuba exhaled slowly and settled back into the chair.

No way in hell was his brother getting out of this one.

* * *

_Author's Note_: I seem to have lost the plot...let me know if you find it! Lol. Sometimes, this happens when you find a ten-year-old story just sitting around in a note book from sixth grade. But much thanks to my wonderful best friend/almost sister/heterosexual life partner **Fedora The Explora** for bearing through my work and correcting spelling here and there, among other things. She's awesome.


	5. When Mokuba Met The Succubus

Saga of Ice

* * *

Mokuba had awakened the next morning and found that his brother was still asleep. He sighed and stretched; sleeping upright in a stiff chair all night didn't do well for his body. He threw a quick glance at Kaiba before taking a shower, getting dressed, and heading outside. It was still early, and judging by his brother's actions the previous night, he knew that Kaiba probably wouldn't be awake anytime soon. Mokuba sank down on the front steps of the mansion as he vaguely wondered how much more his brother's resilient body could take...he thought of all the years of minimal sleep, the strenuous working, meal skipping...and now he could add substance abuse. There was really only one way this could end.

Behind him, the front door opened, and the morning maid stepped out with a mug of coffee.

"Here you go, Mokuba," she said warmly, handing the welcome mug over. "I heard you got in last night, how are you doing?"

Mokuba looked back and grinned. The woman had been around as long as he could remember, and it was very nice to have such a sunny blast from the past at the moment.

"I'm good, Nina, how are you?" He took a sip of coffee and smiled even brighter. "You still know how to make this perfectly."

"Thank you, sir. It's a wonder; your brother rarely requests anything anymore," she said in a distant voice. Mokuba was quiet for a few moments, and she took that to mean she was excused, until Mokuba called back.

"Wait...what exactly is going on with my brother? Did something happen after I left? He can't be upset just because I went away to school, right?"

Nina paused with her hand on the doorknob, then sat down right beside Mokuba. She'd worked under Gozaburo, and had been the one to take care of the brothers throughout their time with that monster. In a way, Mokuba had always seen her as a mother, and while the elder had already become detached from most people, Nina saw them both as surrogate sons, and cared deeply for them both. So, she felt that she could be honest and direct with Mokuba.

"He's sad," she said simply. "You were his main motivation, I believe, and as much as he always said he didn't need anybody, he's human. We all need _someone_."

After a lengthy paused, Mokuba looked at her with a sad smile. "Yeah...you're right." He drew in a deep breath, then exhaled. "I should probably move back then, huh?"

"Of course not! You're not wrong for wanting your own life...and from what I've seen, you have a very pretty girlfriend," she told him, and Mokuba smiled at the mention of Kate. "Don't take this the wrong way, but perhaps this depression will show your brother he can't go through life on his own, only depending on you. I hate to say it, but he's bringing on most of this himself. He needs to open up, and to learn to love someone else."

Mokuba frowned at that at first, but then realized that Nina had a point. Seto Kaiba was beyond stubborn, and people like him needed to fall hard to get the point. He just didn't hoped his brother didn't have to fall _too_ hard; he'd been through too much already...

"You're right," he told her with a smile. "Thanks, Nina." He looked back out into the huge yard and began to stare off into space as Nina went back to finish cleaning. A few moments later the woman returned, phone in hand.

"Mokuba, Kaiba Corp is on the phone, and your brother is...unavailable."

"I got it," Mokuba said, rolling his eyes and accepting the phone. "This is Mokuba Kaiba."

"Mokuba. It's Jenny. Why is there another girl claiming she's your brother's personal assistant, when that's _my_ job?"

Mokuba closed his eyes and groaned inwardly. Jenny was intolerable, even to him, what with her constant complaining and incessant drama. She wasn't even that good to look at. She started working for Kaiba only a few months ago, and Mokuba only had a few interactions, but that was enough for him to know his brother was officially insane. He never would have kept someone on -let alone hire someone- who proved to be so consistently expendable.

"I'm guessing that would be because Seto meant to fire you. Sorry, Jenny."

"Well, he didn't fire me! I'm still here!" she shrieked, and Mokuba was done being nice.

"Then I am firing you. Seto has a new assistant. You have until eleven to clean out." He hung up and glanced at the clock. It was just past ten. He handed the phone and mug over to Nina. "Can you grab the car keys? I have to run over there." The woman nodded, disappeared for a moment, then reappeared. "Thanks." Mokuba made it to his brother's office just in time to catch Jenny screaming at a petite blonde girl.

"This is my job, and I don't know who the hell you think you are trying to steal it! Sleeping with those two stuck up kids will only get you so far, you little-"

"Excuse me?" Mokuba interrupted bluntly. "Jenny, you should be clearing out your stuff." He turned to the blonde, who was staring at Jenny as though she lost her damn mind. "Hi, I'm Mokuba...I think I ran into you yesterday?"

"Literally," said the blonde with a faint smile. "I'm Corrie, Mr. Kaiba's new assistant."

"What a suck up," Jenny muttered as she stuffed the last picture frame into her oversized tote bag. "Well, it's been fun." She made sure to knock over Corrie's coffee all over the desk on her way out. Mokuba closed his eyes once again, then casually walked over and hit a button on the desk.

"Security, make sure Jenny Aguilar gets out of the building. She is no longer welcome on the premises." He turned to Corrie, who was already placing paper towels on the desk to dry it up. "Sorry about that, apparently Seto forgot to take care of that one. She's a little nuts...then again, so is he..." Mokuba trailed off, then shook his head. "Anyhow, my brother's sick today and he won't be in, so you can actually just start tomorrow. Unless you have any questions you'd like me to help you with."

Corrie hesitated briefly, then pulled out some papers that had been left out on the desk, that were now generously covered in vanilla latte.

"No, I don't have any questions yet, but thank you...I should probably fix these though."

Mokuba held his hand out. "Let me see them." She passed them over and he scanned them. "These can be reprinted, come here...just click on the web icon and go here. Then check all the boxes from nine to seventeen, except for sixteen -you don't need that one. Now just click print!"

Corrie did so, and the printer in Kaiba's office could be heard kicking into action. She smiled up at Mokuba.

"Are you sure there's nothing else I can do for you?"

"Technically you're not my assistant," Mokuba answered with a grin. "You don't need to help me, I'm not really even here that often."

"Really? What do you do?" Corrie asked, then immediately cringed. "I'm sorry, that's none of my business."

"No, no! It's fine! I actually live over in New York now. I'm studying physics over at Columbia University, and I'm helping Seto set up a second HQ in Manhattan. Are you in school?" Mokuba answered, smiling at the girl.

"Yes, but only at Domino University," she responded. "I'm working on a degree in economics."

Before Mokuba could respond, his cell phone began to ring. He took it out; it was his brother.

"Hey, Seto," he answered, glancing at Corrie. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," Kaiba replied. "I'm on my way in. Is my new assistant there?"

"Yes, she is. And I also canned that whack-job of an old assistant that came in today...you know, the one you forgot about. Are you sure you're well enough to come in?"

There was a growl on the other end. "I said I'm fine, Mokuba. I'm here now." The line went dead and Mokuba rolled his eyes and turned to Corrie.

"Seto's feeling better, I guess, and he just got here." Mokuba sighed and gathered the paper towels that had successfully soaked up the coffee and tossed them away. He also gathered the soiled documents and sent them through the shredder, then pulled out a card and set it on her desk. "If you need anything, feel free to give me a call or text. I'll be here until Friday, but until then I'm not doing much else."

"Thank you," she said softly, as Kaiba had just entered the room. "Good morning, Mr. Kaiba."

Kaiba was wearing a gray suit with a cream colored dress shirt and a black pinstriped tie, but his hair was slightly mussed and his face was flushed just the tiniest bit. He grunted at Corrie in return greeting, but otherwise ignored Mokuba altogether, while disappearing into his office. The younger brother wasn't having any of this, though, and barged in right after him. Kaiba whirled around as the door slammed against the wall.

"Seto, we have to talk. I'm going to ask you one question, and you have to give me a straight honest answer."

Kaiba shot him a glare as he sat in his chair. "If I say yes, then will you let it go?" Mokuba noticed he didn't say 'leave me alone,' but nodded. "What is it?"

"Why are you hurting yourself again? You haven't done that since before Gozaburo died." Mokuba paused before adding, "I know you are, I checked it last night while you were sleeping."

Kaiba averted his eyes and stared at the blank computer screen in front of him, crossing his arms. He drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm struggling a little bit, Mokuba. It's difficult knowing you're so far away, since we've always been there for each other."

Mokuba rushed over and threw his arms around his brother, just like he did when he was little. Kaiba remained as stony-faced as ever, but he slowly returned the hug and continued talking.

"There are days where I think you left me on purpose -and I know that's not true, you have every right to find out who you are...I just miss having you around, Mokuba." He finally shot the younger brother a pained look, hating to release such personal feelings. Mokuba continued to squeeze his brother for a few moments, before he let go and stepped back.

"Seto, it's not me you miss. You're lonely. I felt this way too when I first got to New York, and then I met some people at school, and then Kate...you need to open up, let someone else in. I know it's pretty much the hardest thing for you to do, but it might help..."

Kaiba rubbed his eyes for a moment before answered. "I'll think about it, Mokuba." The younger brother leaned over and draped his lanky body over the elder brother's shoulders, staring down at the computer screen. A ghost of a smile appeared for a moment before Kaiba cleared his throat. "Will you ask my assistant to pick up some bagels from Harley's? I need something to eat, my head is killing me."

Mokuba smirked and nodded. "I'll go with her. By the way, Seto, her name is Corrie." He gave the CEO a pointed look before heading out the door.

* * *

Mokuba and Corrie stood in line at the bagel shop, making small-talk about whether smoothies or frozen coffee drinks are better, until a familiar blonde man and an unfamiliar striking redheaded woman entered through the door with their hands all over each other. Mokuba couldn't help but to smirk, although he was a bit shocked to see Corrie looking just as amused as he was. Suddenly, the blonde caught sight of the now-taller Mokuba, and ripped his tongue out of the woman's mouth.

"Hey...Mokuba!" he beamed, then looked at the blonde. "And Corrie!" Joey slipped his arm around the woman's waist. "This is Jessica Mills, she's an advice columnist for Domino Daily."

Corrie smiled. "Nice to meet you."

"And you are...?" Jessica asked, a slightly demanding edge to her perky voice.

"I'm Mokuba Kaiba," the dark haired young man interrupted, slightly disturbed by the woman's almost petulant tone of voice. "And Corrie here is my brother's assistant, we're just here on a bagel run. So, how do we know Joey...?"

"Oh, he's my boyfriend!" the auburn-haired woman gushed with a pointed look at the short blonde girl. Corrie stifled a smile and moved over to order at the register. Mokuba raised an eyebrow at Joey, who was blanching.

"Well, _sometimes_ I'm her boyfriend...y'know, once every few years when she either dumps her ex, her ex marries her ex-best friend, or she gets bored of work," Joey spluttered with his arms crossed tightly across his chest, and Mokuba snorted. Jessica ignored both of them and changed the subject.

"So, Joey, how do you know the little blonde girl? She's pretty cute," she remarked, watching Corrie order Kaiba's bagels. Mokuba rolled his eyes, although he wasn't entirely surprised that Joey was involved with what appeared to be a less-than-sane woman. In an attempt to help sway the situation, he answered for Joey.

"I think she used to be a client of yours, right, Joey?"

Mokuba thought he'd salvaged the situation, but the blonde turned even whiter and the woman's bright eyes sparkled and widened.

"So, she's a _rape_ victim?" she whispered excitedly. "My friend at work has been looking for a dramatic story to write about for weeks now, and I think I can help him now!"

"What?! Jess, no! You can't-"

"The hell I can't!" she shot back as Corrie returned with a plastic bag full of bagels, cream cheese, and juice. Jessica smiled even wider at the blonde girl, but Mokuba grabbed her arm automatically.

"Uh, Corrie, we should probably get going, my brother doesn't like these kinds of trips to take too long." He guided her out, a look of concern and guilt on his face.

Meanwhile, Joey turned back to Jessica.

"Please don't do this. She's been through a lot, and the last thing she needs is to be exposed as a victim because some stupid reporter needs to boost his credibility."

Jessica smiled and shook her head. "Come on, it'll be a good thing."

"Don't. That's all I'm asking," Joey begged in a low voice, his dark eyes more serious than ever. Finally, Jessica sighed and looked away.

"Fine. Whatever," she said. "Look, it's our turn to order."

Inwardly, she was smirking. She worked for a newspaper, reporters had connections. Like private investigators. Really, all they needed to do was look up information on the case. No need to actually speak with the victim.

There was no way she was going to let this story go.


	6. I'm Here For You If You Need Me

Saga of Ice

* * *

"Thanks, Corrie, I'll bring these into my brother," Mokuba said, slightly anxiously, and not without a forced smile. The girl gave him a confused looked, but promptly handed the bag of bagels over and sat herself at her desk to begin going through the list Kaiba had left her while they were gone. Mokuba burst into Kaiba's office and found him messing around with another Duel Disk prototype.

"Hello, Mokuba," Kaiba said with a raised eyebrow. "Don't bother trying to break the door down or anything." Mokuba ignored his brother's sarcasm.

"Seto, I screwed up." His voice suddenly turned small, like when he was a child. Kaiba placed his project on the desk in front of him and narrowed his blue eyes in concern.

"What's wrong?"

Mokuba paused to sit down before he spoke. "Do you know why Joey knows Corrie?"

"I believe so, yes. She was attacked and Wheeler was fighting her case."

"How do you think she was attacked?"

"Judging by the bruises on her arms, I assumed there was a mugging gone wrong," Kaiba answered impatiently. "Mokuba, what's wrong with you? Where are you going with this?"

Mokuba squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before deciding to start at the beginning. "So Corrie and I went to get your bagels, and we ran into Joey and...his girlfriend, I guess."

Kaiba snorted. "You guess?" He reached into the bag and extracted a bottle of apple juice, and popped it open as Mokuba continued.

"I don't know the situation really, she's just a complete nutcase. But she's also a-a columnist, I think Joey said, her name's Jessica Mills."

"The advice girl? Are you saying people in Domino City are asking for advice from a woman bat-shit crazy enough to date Wheeler?" Kaiba smirked and took a bite of a bagel.

Mokuba rolled his eyes, but failed to hide a grin and a laugh. "Anyhow, she started getting weird about Corrie, I think she was jealous. So when she asked how Corrie knew Joey, I tried to help, and I said that she was a client of Joey's...Seto, did you know he's been working rape cases?"

"No, I didn't."

"Well, he is, and that's how they know each other. Now his girlfriend wants to do a story on Corrie, and I'm the one who outed her as a victim," Mokuba concluded. "Seto, I can't let this get out, but I'm going back to New York tomorrow..." he trailed off at the quick look of pain on Kaiba's face that disappeared as fast as it had appeared.

"I'll take care of it," Kaiba told him gruffly, though he avoided eye contact. He reached over and hit a button on the phone. "Coralie, I need you in here."

A few moments later, the blonde entered the office. "Yes, Mr. Kaiba?"

Mokuba cringed and looked down, but his brother remained as cool and smooth as ever. "I am aware of you situation with Wheeler, and that you encountered a woman today interested in it."

"I'm sorry?" Corrie tried to keep a poker face, but there were edges of nervousness to her voice that told Kaiba she wasn't exactly aware of what had gone down with Wheeler's woman. Mokuba stood up and exhaled loudly.

"Seto and I know about your...attack, what really happened..." he paused for a moment to see if Corrie would respond, but she remained quiet. "That woman...with Joey...she's going to try and do an article on you, and it's my fault, I'm so sorry-" Mokuba apologized profusely until Kaiba held up his hand.

"Just as a precaution, I'm asking that you stay at my mansion until all this is figured out, for the sakes of both your safety and my company. Since you are involved in both, I believe that would be in everyone's best interest," Kaiba said firmly. Mokuba looked at him with wide eyes and did his best to suppress a smile. Corrie, however, crossed her arms and frowned before responding.

"How do you know I was raped?" she asked quietly.

Mokuba looked at her guiltily. "When you were getting the bagels, Jessica asked how Joey knew you, and he didn't seem to know what to say, so I told her you used to be a client of his. She knew what kinds of cases he works, but I-I didn't, I was just trying to get rid of her. I'm so sorry, Corrie, just let us help you, it's the least I can do. If it helps, I'm leaving tomorrow evening-"

"It's-it's okay, Mokuba," she assured quickly. "You're sure they wouldn't be able to get to me that way...? I just...really don't want to talk about it or be harassed about it by some nosy reporter."

"The mansion has top security, and you will be going to and from work with me. I will also assign a security guard on your door while you are working," Kaiba told her. Corrie nodded in agreement, though she seemed extremely nervous.

"May I go get some of my things?" she asked. Kaiba nodded.

"Let me give Roland a call; he and Marcus will go with you."

* * *

Later that night, once Mokuba had purposely given Corrie the guest room right across the hall from Kaiba's bedroom, the two brothers were sitting out in the garden, staring up into the starry sky. Mokuba leaned over and rested his arm on his brother's shoulder.

"You okay, Seto?" he asked, noting his distant look in Kaiba's eyes.

"I'm fine."

Mokuba sighed and pulled out his phone. "Seto, how about I come back home again next month? It'll be my spring break, and I don't have any other plans."

"It's up to you."

The younger brother rolled his eyes and stood up. "I'm going to bed now. You should do the same thing soon."

Kaiba stood up as Mokuba began to walk away, and reached out to grab his wrist. "Wait." Mokuba stopped and turned around; his brother hesitated, but he knew what he wanted.

"Good night, Seto," Mokuba said softly as he gave his brother a big, squeezing hug before retreating to his bedroom for the night.

Kaiba sat outside for a few more hours before sighed and went into the kitchen, where he opened his wine cooler and pulled out a bottle of champagne. He grabbed a wine glass from the cabinet and was about to start pouring, until he heard someone else enter the room. He turned around to find Corrie standing in the entryway, with what looked like a bottle of pills in her hand.

"Sorry...I don't mean to bother you," she said quickly, noting the apprehending look on his face. "I just need some water quick, if that's okay."

Kaiba blinked, then turned around, pulled a tumbler glass from a different cabinet, and filled it with sparkling purified water from the refrigerator. He wordlessly handed it over to her, then watched as she dispensed a couple of pills into her hand and downed them with some of the water.

"Are those for sleep?"

Corrie hesitated, then nodded briefly. "Kind of. I've had trouble with that lately." She finished the water and proceeded to wash her cup in the sink.

Kaiba looked at the time; it was already after three in the morning. For some reason, he felt bad that the girl's workday would start at seven in the morning even though she wouldn't have gotten enough sleep. He himself was no stranger to the near-insanity lack of sleep would bring, especially when one was under stress. "You can take tomorrow off. I am going to do so as well, since it's my brother's last day here." He took a long drink of the champagne as she finished rinsing the glass of soap.

"Thank you very much," Corrie said quietly as she dried the glass and replaced it into the cabinet. "Good night, sir."

She disappeared back into the shadows of the mansion, and Kaiba looked down into the light gold-colored bubbly liquid in his glass. What was he even doing? At least she'd ignored his solitary late night drinking habit. He shook his head and glanced over at the table, where Corrie had accidentally forgotten her bottle of medication; Kaiba went over to see what it was exactly she was taking.

Diazepam...otherwise known as Valium. _Lovely stuff_, he thought. Kaiba himself had been prescribed plenty of anti-anxiety medications in his teens; specifically, right after Gozaburo's death. They were particularly helpful after the nightmares, when he'd wake up crying out for someone or something he couldn't quite remember, feeling inconsolable until Mokuba would appear at his side with a glass of water and some medication. The child would snuggle up beside him after that, so really, he wasn't sure if it was the meds that helped or his little brother's love and support; perhaps it was a combination of the two. Even that dark memory struck a chord of pain in his heart as he longer for the past of familiar discomfort over these present empty demons. He downed the rest of the glass, then set it in the sink and started heading to his bedroom. He started hearing a strangled, worried voice as he drew nearer.

"...Please, don't do this, if you leave me alone, I won't say anything."

Kaiba frowned and stood right outside Corrie's door as the conversation continued.

"Ryan, I'm so sorry, I never should have told them. I tried keep it a secret, so they never knew..."

The CEO knocked on the door before walking on, the usual icy blue glare plastered on his face. Corrie's own eyes widened in fear before she told the person on the other end of the line she had to go, then she stared fearfully at the phone in her hand.

"Who was that?" Kaiba asked sharply. The girl kept her gaze on her phone as she answered.

"Just an ex-boyfriend."

Kaiba crossed his arms and stared at her for a few moments, then said, "I hired you because I got the feeling that you are smart...don't do anything stupid." And with that, he disappeared into his own bedroom right across the hall.

* * *

_Ring...ring...ring_...

Joey's landline started ringing off the hook. He moaned and stretched, glancing at the clock. It was half-past three in the morning. Grumbling incoherent curses to himself, Joey reached over and pulled the cord straight out of the wall.

It wasn't time to answer the phone. It was time to sleep. Jessica turned over beside him and giggled to herself.

"Yeah, that's going to work..."

Joey shot an annoyed look over at her before sprawling out on his stomach and trying to drift off again; unfortunately, that was when his cell phone began to play the obnoxious 80's masterpiece 'Take On Me.' He had yet to remember why that was his ringtone. Finally he grabbed it and looked at the caller ID.

_Kaiba_? What the hell did he want?

Joey groaned and stumbled out of bed before answering the phone. "What d'you want, Money Bags?" he demanded sleepily as he stalked into the hallway, away from the woman who had done a damn good job inviting herself into his bed.

"I just have one question," Kaiba replied coolly. Joey groaned; at least he didn't sound intoxicated, but what the heck was up with calls this time of the night?

"Get on with it then," he shot back irritably.

"Who's Ryan?"

"What?"

Kaiba let out an impatient sigh. "I heard that your crazy girlfriend wants to out my assistant as a rape victim to the whole damn city, so I am having her stay here until you clear that crap up. She was on the phone with someone named Ryan, and it didn't sound good. Who is he?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa-back up...are you saying you care about someone else besides yourself or your brother?" Joey snorted in amusement. He could just anticipated the death glare pasted on Kaiba's face at that moment.

"Yes-_my company_," he snarled back; a bit too ferociously, in Joey's expert opinion. "Now, answer my question, you idiot: who does this girl know named Ryan?"

Joey blinked. "Well...that was her ex-boyfriend, the one who hurt her, but he's in jail. There's no way she could've been talking to him now."

"Jail?"

"Yeah, I put him away for the next thirty years or so," Joey told Kaiba proudly. "Stop being so paranoid and go to sleep, Rich Boy, it's the middle of the night." He heard his landline start back up again and groaned; Jessica must've plugged it back in. "Listen, somebody's blowing up my house phone now so I gotta go. Seriously, just get to bed, Kaiba." He hung up and went back to his bedroom, where Jessica was on the phone.

"I'm sorry, who's this?" She shot a look up at Joey. "Arisa who?"

"That's one of the detectives, Jess," Joey snarled and snatched the phone from her. "This is Joey, what can I do for you, Milioti?"

"I've been trying to call for like ten minutes. Anyhow, Ryan Daschell has escaped from prison. Can you talk to Corrie Smart about this? You two seemed to have a connection."

Joey groaned loudly. "Actually, he might've already contacted her. I gotta go check on this, but I'll give you a call as soon as I know something." He hung up and started putting on a shirt and pants as Jessica watched.

"So what's going on?" she asked casually. Joey shot her an annoyed look.

"Can't talk to you about it," he said as he pulled on his socks and shoes. Jessica pouted behind him.

"Oh, come on, don't just leave me in the dark."

Joey lost it. "Jessica! This right here is why I can't do this! All you care about is getting news on cases to pass on to your stupid reporter friends, and I care about helping and protecting people. We're done for good, so you better be gone by the time I get back."

She gaped at him, but Joey had no time to continue the conversation. He grabbed his cell phone and wallet, then stormed out to his car. Once he was sailing down the road, he tried giving a call to Kaiba. It rang four times before going to voicemail.

"Damn it, Kaiba, I know you aren't sleeping already!" he yelled before hanging up and dialing again. This time it only rang twice. Changing his plan of attack, he dialed Mokuba's phone number.

"Hello?" Mokuba's voice was extremely dreamy and distant, and Joey knew he'd pulled him out of a deep sleep.

"Hey...Mokuba, it's Joey! Sorry for waking you. Listen, I need to talk to your brother, it's important and he's not answering his phone."

There was a yawn and some shuffling on the other end before Mokuba mumbled out an 'okay.' A few moments later, a distinctly cranky voice was snapping at him.

"Wheeler, weren't you the very person telling me to sleep a few minutes ago?"

"Yes, but I know you weren't asleep and you're just being a dick. I'm on my way right now because Ryan Daschell escaped from prison, and I need to see Corrie," Joey retorted.

"_Shit_," Kaiba cursed. "I'll be waiting downstairs for you. Security will be instructed to let you through."

"How will they know who I am?" Joey demanded. This was met with an audible smirk.

"Because you're on the short list of people I want kicked out immediately."

* * *

Wow, quick updates much? I'm having way too much fun writing this, though. Hope you're all still enjoying this mess! :D


	7. Chaotic Conundrums

Saga of Ice

* * *

Once Kaiba let Joey into the mansion, he found Mokuba dozing in and out on the couch, but Corrie was nowhere in sight. He turned back to Kaiba and narrowed his eyes.

"Where is she?"

"In the kitchen with a detective," Kaiba told him, almost disinterestedly. Joey scowled, vaguely wondering if perhaps he was bipolar (since he had been the very one demanding to know who Ryan was not even an hour ago) and watched momentarily as Kaiba went to take a seat in a chair across from Mokuba and pulled a book off of the coffee table. The blonde stared at him.

"Kaiba, I don't know where the hell your kitchen is," he stated indignantly.

The brunet turned a glare towards him. "Keep your voice down, Mokuba's trying to rest. The kitchen is just across the hall to the right. I thought even you should have been able to figure that one out, Mr. Attorney."

"Shut the fuck up, Kaiba," Joey grumbled, but before he could proceed with his search for the kitchen, two cops and both detectives Milioti and West came storming out of the kitchen, chattering on their walkie talkies. Joey blanched and rushed out after them. "Hey! What's going on?"

Milioti whirled around. "Ryan Daschell was spotted in the neighborhood. We think he somehow tracked Corrie here." Kaiba, Mokuba, and Corrie all appeared behind Joey, and the detective frowned. "Corrie, you should really stay inside, he did threaten you, after all."

The girl shook her head. "No. This is all my fault. I can't just hide from it." Mokuba frowned and patted her shoulder.

"You can't take the blame for him being a jerk, Corrie."

The detective sighed. "Well, I can't make you do anything, but just be smart." And with that, she ran off to join the rest of the until. The other four stood there, watching the cops swarm around the neighborhood, until a loud bang resounded throughout the property. Joey instinctively threw his body in front of the other three, shoving them into the house, when he felt a sharp pain in his back. He let out a deafening blood-curdling scream before falling to his knees, and vaguely heard Kaiba shouting at him and the cops as everything slowly went black.

* * *

"Look! Martin, he's coming to, hold on a second!"

Joey opened his eyes, which immediately fixated on Detective Milioti's wide violet eyes as her face was hovering right above him. He moaned and squeezed his eyes shut in pain. Half of his body was numb and the other half was in terrible pain; it was a very odd sensation, mostly because you couldn't decided which half was which.

"Corrie...is she...what happened?" he mumbled, still half asleep.

"She's fine," the detective said quickly. "And we caught Daschell too. No one was hurt except you."

"Lucky me."

West went to stand next to his partner and grimaced down at the blonde. "You could've gotten yourself killed, you know?"

"I just acted. I couldn't let her get hurt...been through too much already." Joey licked his dry lips and opened his eyes. "Did you catch the son of a bitch at least?"

"Yes," both detectives answered in unison, then they looked at each other until the woman added, "He's going back to prison in solitary at least until after the next trial. He's being charged with attempted murder now."

"I can't wait to try this case," Joey growled, hoisting himself into a sitting position. Milioti immediately placed her hands on his shoulders to steady him as West let out a short barking laugh.

"Like hell you're trying this case. Captain told us to tell you that the DA has already assigned another prosecutor on the case and you're taking the next month off."

"_What_?" demanded Joey. "A whole month?"

"It's okay," Milioti said quickly. "Everyone just wants to make sure you make a full recovery, your boss will call you in the next few days. Just be happy and take the time."

Before Joey could respond, a short knock sounded at the door, and a doctor entered the room. He was a short, squat, bald man with thick glasses and a clipboard. The detectives bid Joey good luck before departing, leaving Joey alone with the other man in the room.

"I'm Dr. Lund. How are you feeling?"

"You know...kind of like I got _shot_."

The doctor failed at suppressing a smile. "Well, that would make sense. You're going to be fine, though, we extracted the bullet and cleaned and stitched you up. We're going to keep you overnight just to make sure, but you'll be free to go first thing in the morning." He scanned through the papers for a few moments, then pulled out a sheet. "This is a message for you from Seto Kaiba." Joey groaned and thanked the doctor as the man left, and stewed for a few moments about having to spend the night in the hospital before turning his attention to Kaiba's note.

'_Give me a call when you can.' _

"Please and thank you..." Joey grumbled in mocking annoyance as he reached over to grab his cell phone, which was sitting on the table to the left. He scrolled through until he found Kaiba's cell number and hit the 'talk' button. It rang a few times before a young woman's voice answered.

"This is Mr. Kaiba's phone."

"Corrie...? It's Joey Wheeler," he responded, confused.

"How are you doing?" she asked after a small gasp. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry about what happened."

"I'll be okay," Joey hastened to assure her. "Don't worry. I just need to talk to Kaiba. Is he around?"

"He's...unavailable." She sounded uncomfortable, and a few moments of silence slipped by before she added, "Mokuba just got on his flight back to New York. He's not very happy."

Joey had completely forgotten that Mokuba was heading back that evening; he glanced at the clock and realized it was well past eight in the evening. Apparently, he'd lost the whole day. He sighed.

"Was he drinking...?"

"He had a couple drinks when we went to dinner with Mokuba, but nothing major. Can I take a message? He's in his office right now."

"You're at Kaiba Corp right now?" Joey said, shocked at both the fact that Corrie had gone to dinner with the Kaiba brothers _and_ at the fact that the elder one was at work this late. As far as he was aware, Kaiba had forgone being a workaholic for being an alcoholic a couple years ago.

"Yes, we are."

"You know what, I'm just going to call his office phone. Thanks, Corrie!" He ignored the girl's protests as he hung up and found Kaiba's office phone number.

"Kaiba," the CEO snarled. Joey couldn't help but to snicker.

"That's a pleasant greeting," he informed Kaiba. "I got your message. What's up?"

Kaiba sighed on the other end of the line and paused to search for words for a moment. "When are you getting out of the hospital?"

"Tomorrow morning...? Why?"

"I'll send my driver to bring you over here at nine. I'll talk to you then." Kaiba hung up so quickly that Joey didn't have a chance to protest at all. Instead, Joey immediately dialed the number again, and got the same snotty greeting.

"Kaiba, what the hell did you have to tell me?"

"I told you, I'll talk to you _tomorrow_. Just get some rest and stop bothering me," the brunet shot back. "Good night." Kaiba hung up again, leaving Joey utterly confused. There was an edge to his voice that made the blonde uncomfortable...so much for getting rest.

* * *

When Mokuba entered the penthouse he shared with his girlfriend, he was surprised to find that she wasn't there. Sometimes she'd have to work late if filming was a little off, but they'd made plans to go out for a late dinner when he got back, so he assumed she'd at least be there. He decided to go and unpack, until he heard the door slam and Kate calling his name.

"Mokuba! Are you home yet?"

Mokuba dropped all of his stuff and ran down to pull the brown-haired girl into his arms. He crushed his lips on to hers and deepened the kiss until they both needed air, then panting, he told her he missed her. Kate broke away, but she still had a rather excited look on her face.

"So...you said that Yugi Mutoh is, like...the bane of your brother's existence, right?"

Mokuba raised an eyebrow. "Yeah...almost ten years ago..." He shook his head. "Why do you ask?"

Kate grinned and slammed her hands on his shoulders. "I saw him at the coffee shop where we were filming today! My brother is a huge fan of his, so Yugi's coming by the set again tomorrow and he said he was going to sign his Dark Magician so I could give it to him!"

Mokuba gaped. "He's in New York City?!"

"Yeah, but he said he doesn't duel anymore."

The younger Kaiba shook his head. "No, it's not that, really...it's just that no one has seen Yugi in years. When his grandpa died, he closed up the game shop and disappeared."

Kate looped her arms around Mokuba's neck and grinned at him. "Well, why don't you come with me to work tomorrow? You don't have class, and I'm sure your office will be fine."

Mokuba stared into her dark eyes for a few moments before nodding slowly. "Yeah...I think I will."


End file.
